Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Murder Mystery Fairy Tale Fantasy Goodness

Beauty and the Alchemist by Elle Hartford

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Beauty and the Alchemist asks, what does it take to overcome a curse? Particularly if the world you live in is filled with magic. Throw in a bit of murder and you have quite the mystery on your hands. Which is exactly what formerly traveling alchemist Red finds herself surrounded by. She’s been content to settle into life as a shopkeeper in rural Belville, expecting to focus on potions and finding her footing within the community. Red’s plans get changed when Belville’s lone police officer, […]

A Fairytale Romance

The Scarlet Circus by Jane Yolen

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In this collection of eleven short stories, the reader encounters love in its myriad forms – romance, but familial love and friendship and love of duty too – all splashed with plenty of fantasy. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I did not recognize Jane Yolen right away – she has written over four hundred books, and it turns out that though I have not read any of them, I knew plenty of them. Anyway I have rectified that sad oversight with The […]

Queen of the Nile

Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth by Francine Prose

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Francine Prose tells the story of Cleopatra (VII Philopater, if you want to be specific), her entanglement with the Roman Empire, and how she has become distorted in cultural depictions after her death. In a way, I am reading this book in preparation – I’ve got the reading of a retelling of Cleopatra’s life set in space (!) coming up, and I figured that I’d appreciate it more if I gave myself a better grounding of the historical subject matter first. Also, I’ve always found […]

Ornery Agatha Cat Christie

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire

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Ellie and her sister Meg are the latest managers of their family-owned bookstore. When an employee disappears and a mysterious visitor ends up dead in a gondola, the Christies find themselves entangled in the mystery. My losing streak had apparently ended, because I adored this book! It had all the best traits of a cozy mystery – quirky characters, a small town feel, adorable animals – without going overboard, which is a real hazard in this genre. The Christies are a fun, close-knit family, bookstore […]

A Flash in the Pan

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

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CBR 14 Bingo: Font I do like that dripping red font, like it’s been chalked on. Also Lydia is a font of misery. Lydia is a vampire – has been all her life, since her mother turned her as an infant. Now she’s living on her own for the first time, and having trouble tracking down blood. Though I did not know there was a term for them, I have long been aware of the Sad, Strange, Miserable Women that populate the modern literary landscape. […]

Electra Complex

Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter by Lizzie Pook

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CBR 14 Bingo: Bird Birds populate the landscape of this book – and Eliza’s father is prophesied to be found in a white place surrounded by many birds. When Eliza’s father’s ship returns from a pearling expedition without him, everyone but her seems to accept that he is dead. But Eliza is certain there is more to the story, and she is determined to find him. I am rather annoyed with this book. It was so relentlessly depressing, and once I had gotten through the […]



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